Battles in the Stars
by Dark Lord Link
Summary: A young, unsung Hylian legend, an inter-galactic bounty huntress, and a squadron of highly intelligent anthropomorphic star fighter pilots try to survive the Galactic Civil War under the Rebel Alliance banner.  Includes Romance


Summary:

_A young, unsung Hylian legend, an inter-galactic bounty huntress, and a squadron of highly intelligent anthropomorphic star fighter pilots try to survive the Galactic Civil War under the Rebel Alliance banner. Accompanying them are defected Imperial officers, as they guard key installations vital to the Alliance's survival._

This is a bit of an Alternate Universe story, I might as well make it this way seeing as some of the members of the Smash Bros are involved now. So as not to confuse anyone too soon, or at all for that matter, I'll provide a small summary of a few characters that also explains' a bit about their connection with the Alliance:

*Link, the unsung hero of Hyrule becomes a soldier in the fading Alliance to restore the Republic army after they discovered his home world in a galaxy strangely close to their own. Deciding to agree at the behest of princess Zelda, his sister, Link is assigned to general Samus Aran's raid force after a meeting with a desperate Rebel associate. Due to no combat background record of him, Link is recruited as a simple soldier with the rank of private. But after great assurances of his skill, the Alliance saw fit to send him to Samus. Being a long time friend of the good general for a decade before the Galactic Civil War, Link is taken under her wings and slowly develops an understanding for technology. But not entirely.

*Samus, being an ex-military warrior and a highly experienced tactician as well as a renowned bounty hunter in this other galaxy, proves she is worthy of a rank so high. She is assigned an EF76 Nebulon-B Escort Frigate with green armor plating and a small army of elite soldiers to raid Imperial worlds and defend the supply base on Kothlis. When possible, Samus takes on covert missions, either accompanied by Link or by herself, to assassinate or capture an Imperial commander with threatening abilities or to silence a pirate gone rogue. During such missions, Samus would prefer to fly in her personal gunship.

*Commander Fox, also being a well-toned fighter, is granted his rank in the Alliance and tasked with defending Mon Calamari from Imperial task forces with his native squad units. His squadron was provided a small fleet of patrol ships to accomplish this. As an addition to his primary duties, his squadron is also sent on numerous rescue missions to recover captured Rebels and return them to the Alliance. When requested ground support, his fighters take to the surface with their flagship, the Great Fox, and provide support fire in powerful Landmaster tanks with Peppy and Krystal providing air support in Arwings.

Now, I didn't go into full details because I didn't, of course, want to _totally_ ruin it all for whoever reads this, just give you a nibble of what I have planned to see if you like the sounds of it rather than bother waisting your time reading the whole chapter and deciding you're not interested. But I promise that this will be one of my biggest projects, and honestly, one of my more focused ones. Considering my means of inspiration is quite bendable, available at moments notice, and easily twisted, I should be able to keep a steady flow on the story, one that is not too fast, or too slow (Although, I could use some willing helpers). So please, enjoy this.

**Side Note:** I wanted to wait until I had 10 whole chapters to back this story up with...but I just couldn't hold onto it for that long! Pairings are being debated, so currently, they're unknown but there will be a pairing if not more. Each story I write has a romance in it and this one is no different.

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><p><strong>Chapter I:<strong>

**Landing on Rhen Var**

A thunderous bang erupted into the quiet space, and from the ensuing flash a green armored battleship emerges from the blackness of the distant stars. As the engines on the vessel recuperate, the ship begins to pick up speed and moves toward a white, desolate, seemingly life-voided world.

The many quad guns of the frigate like warship slowly rotate around, searching for signs of enemy units. Rectangular glows of light illuminated the gunners as they fiddled about with the controls that operated the machinery. Many humanoid figures, some alien, could be seen in the countless windows of the vessel, walking back and forth as they carried out their numerous tasks.

On the bridge of the vessel, a tall curvaceous and athletic woman stands in a skin-tight blue suit, holding her hands behind her back as her cyan blue eyes scan the planet idly rotating on its axis. Her hair is kept in a long ponytail, held in place by a red ribbon while a few escaping bangs hover over her eyes and two long strands rest upon her shoulders. Pink-ish markings are embedded within her suite in several areas, most notably being her mid-back, back hands, and upper chest. A small disk to materialize a much larger device is seen from her side pocket at all times. Her figure stands strongly amongst the others, her presence inspiring many to push on and bring out the best of their abilities as humanly possible. Her image and name brings the feelings of loneliness and solitude, but strength and determination. Her many associates all look up to her for the leader she truly is and the motivation she brings.

All around her, sailors clad in tan vests and black pants with silver headsets sit before consoles operating a certain function of the frigate. One man; a somewhat short, stubby and quite grizzled elder wearing naval uniform walks back and forth on the catwalk as he watches the crew carry out their mandates. Occasionally, an operator would approach him and whisper a report to him while showing him some charts with complicated symbols.

The steel doors leading into the bridge room open, silently hissing loud enough to mark the entrance of the entity behind it. The woman's gaze does not falter, nor does her comrades even bother to look up and see who approaches. As if paralyzed to her spot, she squints to the surface and surrounding area, searching for anything out of the ordinary. And like ants in a nest, the crew silently continue to work.

"Samus?" a familiar, slightly shy sounding voice calls from behind her. Samus smiles slightly, breaking her gaze to turn to her friend. The young lad standing before her bears wavy blonde hair, several bangs reached to his lower jaw. His blue eyes held mystery within, the type that begged to be discovered but also courage, marking his willingness to step in the line of fire. He had a handsome, slightly edgy shaped face and long, sharp pointed ears giving him a resemblance to an elf.

On his head, covering most of his hair, was an unusual hat; long and tail like in shape that seemed to complete his image while giving him a uniqueness to all others. His garbs were green, seemingly an ancient styled tunic with tights beneath. Covering his legs were black pants that were tucked into long leather boots with flaps, held up by a single buckle on each boot. Across his back, a weapon that appeared to be from the oldest days of history poked up from his left shoulder, held in place by a belt, completing an image of timelessness. He was shorter than she was by a few inches, standing at five foot eleven inches where as she stood at a full six foot two inches.

"Yes Link. This is Rhen Var."

Link moves his cerulean eyes from his comrade to gaze out of the view port, walking over to get a better view. He made a nearly impossible to see motion, one that did not require him to move much at all. Samus could almost see him emit the small shiver at the sight of the frozen world. Either it was the planet or the cold atmosphere of the ship, it was never easy to tell. Ever since he left his home world, he had shivered from the cool air in space. She felt sympathetic to him, he had never been inside a starship before, much less one this size. On several occasions, he had even gotten lost in the hull on his way to the bridge, or to his quarters. Despite how protective she was of his naiveté in this new surrounding, she did not reprimand the other crew members when they laughed. Even she thought it was quite amusing. But after all, Link was just reaching adulthood, yet he still bore the mind of a child.

She turned her head to watch the screens on the east side of the bridge. As she read the symbols, of which she still had difficulty translating, the naval officer that had been watching over the bridge operators approached the two.

"Excuse us, private. General Aran, from the looks of the scans, Rhen Var has been abandoned by the Empire for some time. Perhaps the last raid destroyed the long range scanner they defended so passionately...However, the surrounding space is devoid of life-forms. We have clearance for approach if you desire to proceed with this operation. But I must warn you; the planetary terrain is ragged shaped and filled with slopes and mountains. It may be difficult to land the assault ship there." He informed.

"Thank you captain Feta. That will be all." The general replied receiving a nod from Feta. Turning on her heel to approach a large, circular machine situated near the doors of the bridge, she tapped a button and an image seemingly ghost like in appearance emerged from the center. As the signal locked in, Link came up to Samus' side, not wanting to get in the way of the crew at work.

A man's image materialized, leaving Link a little uneased by the contraption at work before him. The man took notice of Samus Aran's form and stood at attention.

"R-A-S Verdict, reporting general!" he citied loyally. Samus tapped a few commands into a keyboard next to the connection button and hit a symbol to send it, as if she did not hear his greeting.

"Lieutenant, according to our scans, the Imperial Star Destroyer 'Absalom' is no longer guarding the planet. There are no signs of hostile activity, leading us to believe the Empire abandoned the system. I will send a small scout force ahead to ensure a landing zone is secured before I have you set down. While that is being done, exit hyperspace and form up with the Aria. I've sent you the coordinates to jump to. Proceed when ready." Samus said in a voice of authority.

"Right away, sir." the lieutenant acknowledged, nodding as his transmission ended. Immediately after, the Acclamator transport-class assault ship Verdict burst into the space next to the Aria. The starship held two large orange stripes lining the top side of the hull on each end, stretching from the bow to the stern. The orange stripes marked the vessel was apart of general Samus Aran's forces. The very few laser guns and quad turbo laser turrets mounted along the port and starboard sides of the ship remained still as the ship moved next to the Aria in wing formation.

Samus turned to her young friend, Link. The look on her face suggested to the young Hylian's keen eyes that she had a task for him to complete. And judging by the glint in her eye, it was one he wouldn't be too happy about. He braced himself for the orders about to come from her perfect lips, the orders he already knew the details of.

"I know you're still getting used to this all...but I need you to assemble your squad and prepare for reconnaissance, tell the sarge I want these coordinates checked, and make sure to keep out of sight. I'll stay up here and prepare the assault ship to deploy. If the Empire did give up on this sector, we can establish a new outpost." She instructed, handing Link a small check board with numerous numbers displayed on a small gray screen.

His frown said how he felt about leaving the Aria and Samus' side. He had only been doing this for six months and each time he was sent away was one he loathed yet feared the most. This was justified most when he was sent away alone with his squad, who he barely knew, much less trust.

Link took the board and gave a slight bow of acknowledgment, turning to head towards the barracks of the frigate. He hadn't taken two steps before a familiar hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Remember what I taught you... If things don't go the way we planned, activate this device and I'll be down there to get you guys out." Samus whispered to him as she slid a small tracking beacon into his uniform.

"Yes, Samus..."

* * *

><p>The billowing blizzards created waves in the soft, powdery snow before the soldier's feet. Long, tall mountains stood all around them and far into the distance, creating small canyons filled with snow. It was excruciatingly cold here, each soldier wore several layers of clothing to protect themselves from the harsh winds and deathly temperatures.<p>

A small shuttle rested behind the main squad, engines off but ignition systems still on and ready for an emergency retreat. A handful of men walked around, setting up equipment and others armed their blaster rifles. High atop one of the large hills, Link stood with a winter cape around his shoulders and his face exposed. With shuddering breathes visible in this ghastly cold atmosphere, he analyzed the terrain as far as his hawk-like Hylian eyes would go.

"Such a voided place...Lonely like...Not but a barren tundra with a few mountains in the mix." He muttered to himself under the howling winds as all he saw was snow and towering summits blocking his gifted sight. Behind him, a single trooper of his same rank stood with a set of thermal binoculars, analyzing the opposite direction. He sighed as he lowered the binoculars, turning to his comrade.

"You see anything over there?" He called loudly, raising his voice to be heard, despite how close the two were, the wind was very loud at their altitude. Link turned his head briefly to the man before he looked at a different spot. With the sun glaring down on them, it was difficult to see much of anything with the snow glowing so brightly. But he caught sight of a glint in the distance. He raised his hand and pointed towards the spot.

"I think I see something shining over there! Looks like...a machine of some type! Not like what I remember the Empire using!" He answered.

"Lemme take a look." The other said. Link stepped aside and allowed his partner to take his place, he watched the soldier raise the binoculars up and look. After a few seconds, he wiped his eyes and tried again.

"Aah, blast these things, its malfunctioning again!" He howled as he played with a few buttons on the side. Link shook his head, and wondered why he had long range sight and the humans did not.

Without saying a word, he jumped off the side of the hill and kept his feet on the slopes, effectively getting closer to the leveled ground quickly. The soldier looked up in shock at the sight.

"Are you _mad_?"

Link did not reply, he continued to run down the mountain towards the area of interest in the distance. The rebel soldier grunted to himself and mounted a speeder bike behind him, placing the binoculars in a sack and activating the machine. With a loud hum, the bike shot forward in the Hylian's direction.

"Crazy elf..." He muttered to himself, his voice lost in the wind and the engine of the speeder.

Link jumped up just as he reached the floor and landed on his feet. He stood and turned around as his partner pulled up next to him. With an annoyed glare, the soldier gestured for Link to mount the bike. Once he was in place, the soldier tipped his foot to a forty-degree angle and the bike accelerated once again.

Within moments, they arrived to the spot. Grabbing a blaster the soldier dismounted. Link pulled a small pistol from the side of the bike, unsure on how to actually use it, but instead following the trooper's lead and pretending like he knew what he was doing. They glanced closely at what seemed to be a contraption buried underneath the snow, seemingly armored. The soldier passed his gloved hand over the side of the object and uncovered a view port. He took a step back, seeing a few skeletal remains within, charred black by what must have been a fire.

"...Well, now I know why the Empire left. It got too cold and too hard to move here." He concluded to Link, "This is a head to an AT-AT. Apparently the terrain had gotten so bad they decided it wasn't worth the loss of personnel and equipment."

"That seems quite uncharacteristic of the Empire." Link noted.

"True. But it's the only thing that would make sense, at least to me. Let's get back to the sarge, get out of this cold and report to the general. I'm freezing my buns off." the soldier moaned dis-tastily.

A small buzz came from the white circular arm piece on Link's right arm, it engulfed his forearm, hiding his brown gauntlets that were connected to his half finger gloves. A small green light blinked rapidly and a voice resounded from the tiny speaker.

"Link? ...Link, you there? Come in, Link." Samus' voice called. Link looked at the device, muttering curses to himself as he tried to remember which button opened up the connection. The other soldier had yet to see him or hear Samus yet.

"Oh come on!" He growled with fury. "...I can't work with this, bloody ridiculous technology! Who's idea was this anyway?" He asked himself as he pressed a few buttons randomly.

On the bridge of the Aria, Samus sat on her commander's chair with captain Feta at her side. She watched the small communicator on her wrist blink several different colors, holding her chin with her other wrist, patiently waiting for him to hit the talk button. She began to wonder if he would ever hit the right button. The captain held a small amused smile and forced his chuckle down as he pretended not to notice the lights.

A minute passed and Samus groaned. She pressed a green button on her com-link and spoke.

"Its the green button on your left." She said with a sigh.

"Samus?" Link's voice finally replied.

"Yep. Try to remember, its always the button flashing. Now, hows the recon going?"

"Well...I found what my partner called an 'AT-AT' covered in snow. Theirs two dead Imperial soldiers inside the cab, we think it's why the Empire's presence here is non-existent. From the looks of the remains, they either tried to build a fire to keep themselves warm or the great beast tripped and exploded like a bomb from the inside." Link reported. Samus glanced at Feta who returned her surprised gaze at the news. Both turned their gaze back to the com-link.

"Interesting...Any _live_ Imperials down there?" She asked.

"So far, none."

"Right. Good work Link; get back to your squad and get warm. I'll head down soon and see if we can't find a decent spot to land the Verdict." She informed.

"Yes, Samus." with that, a small bleep marked the end of the transmission.

She stood from her chair and glanced around at her crew. One in particular caught her eye. She turned her head to her captain without removing her eyes from the operator in sight. The operator wore a captain's hat on her head, covering her brunette shoulder length hair kept in a ponytail to keep from obstructing her view. Her uniform was slightly different from the other operators; colored a deep gray borderline blue shade with missing patches over her left breast. The operator seemed slightly pale, and Samus mused that she could use some sun and a break from bridge duty, judging by the pale skin and the stress-filled cracked emerald eyes.

"Captain, how many ex-Imperial sailors are on-board my ship?" She asked him.

"Including me? Half the crew. In-fact, the entirety of your bridge crew are former Imperials."

Samus hummed to herself in thought. The person she continued to gaze at still wore her old uniform. Stripped of the Empire's stripes of course, but definitely Imperial tracker uniform nonetheless.

"Dispatch, prepare my gunship." Samus ordered of the girl. The brunette turned to look at the general with a hushed acknowledgment before she caught the general watching her. "You look like you could use some fresh air." she added with a smile, "I'll need you to come with me."

"M-me?" The girl meekly inquired. Samus nodded.

"Yes, you have experience in landing cruisers like the Verdict in rough terrain, correct?"

"Yes...I-I do, b-but general sir, I don't-"

"Well then, you're our best bet. So gather your winter gear and meet me in the hangar."

"...Yes sir..." And with that said, the unnamed sailor stood from her station and left the bridge as another operator took her spot.

Samus and the operator accompanying her walked up the ramp leading into the general's Gunship. The brunette's green eyes looked around, never having seen a ship like this one ever before. Considering her knowledge of ships, there wasn't one in her mind that came close to this ones design. There were control panels situated in every hallway, each one either controlling the access doors to rooms or the lights. She looked inside one room with the door open and noticed it was a living space. From the looks of it, it was the room general Aran slept in.

There was a bed, a closet, a small dresser with four doors, a glass encasing for the strange body armor she wore sometimes, and a few pictures of people she did not recognize. Some of these people wore combat armor, but not like anything she ever saw, the armor was deep blue in color and the insignia was foreign to her. One particular person she did recognize though, it was the general's friend, private Link. In this portrait, he was wearing his green tunic, hat, boots, that strange steel weapon on his back, and the tights. The setting seemed temperate, like a forest. He sat on a stump next to the general herself and had that unusual blue colored instrument in his mouth, the one he made music from. The general wore more common clothing in this picture, a simple shirt and green pants with some civilian foot wear.

A hand passed over the panel next to the entrance and the door closed. The brunette looked up to see Samus with a blank expression on her face.

"Oh, apologies sir. I didn't mean to intrude. I was just admiring the portraits..." She whispered to the general. Samus shrugged nonchalantly, as if she was not bothered with the brunette looking into her private quarters.

"Unfortunately, those days are long gone."

"...I see."

Samus typed in a password to the panel that must have lead into the bridge of the gunship and the door slid open quietly. The cockpit was relatively small, barely large enough for two, all along the dash underneath the view port were different commands, waiting to be pushed. Several lights glowed softly from the side panels and the roof, giving the pilot the light to see what was where. The operator sat down in the passenger seat and strapped herself in as the general warmed the engines up. She raised her head at the dispatch officer briefly.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Private Leyula Vhon Quil." She replied.

"Quite a name!" Samus laughed, Leyula smiled slightly, agreeing with her commander.

"What planet are you from?"

"Anaxes...The Empire recruits most of its naval sailors from that planet."

"Ah. How long were you in their navy?"

"Four years. But I landed more ships in near impossible locations than sailors twice my age and years of service." She answered, sounding a bit bitter. Samus could see that despite her skill the Empire never gave her the well-deserved attention she should have received.

"You proved that to me before. Its why I said no to Mon Mothma when she offered me a replacement crew after that raid on the pirate outpost on Shola went terribly wrong." Samus revealed. "I could see the potential of my current command. It was just my fault for not giving you all a chance to warm up to your new posts and duties."

Leyula offered another smile, she seemed a little up-brought by the general, revealing her own flaws and hinting that she learned from them. Leyula knew that was what made a good leader.

"So tell me, why did you decide to defect?" Samus asked. Leyula looked away.

"Why do you ask?"

"It serves me well as your commanding officer to know a little history about my soldiers and sailors." Samus answered "Any commander that doesn't is a poor commander. You have to know what your units are capable of, their feelings about things, their opinions, their mind tracks so that I could better determine your duties, etcetera." the general added. Leyula looked back at Samus, her reason made sense. She gathered her thoughts.

"Well...there's several explanations for that. One would be the Empire has a huge policy about female units in service. We never really got any promotion, no matter how good we were. They either kept us as cooks, or garbage cleaners. I was lucky to get the position as dispatch and landing officer. The other was I learned that the Empire killed my family when a rival patriarch accused them of associating with Rebel soldiers." She replied. Samus nodded, it wasn't the first time one of her ex-Imperial units gave her the same reason for defection. "They killed my whole family, my father, my mother, my younger brother who was planning to join the academy..." Leyula added.

"I'm sorry that happened."

"Please, don't be. It was six years ago...I'd rather not dwell on it, I just want to be apart of the movement that will eventually bring down the Empire. At least then I will be satisfied for what they did to me." The operator muttered. She obviously was fiercely determined to lash back at the Imperials for the treachery they committed.

"Believe me, the Empire's crimes will be met with heavy costs. The Rebellion is inflicting wounds that are sure to bring it down with time." The general assured darkly. She wasn't good with comforting troubled soldiers, Link was. She just hoped she was doing it right. A distracted soldier is a dead soldier. Minds clouded can not see the tasks before them or the situation that would determine their fate.

Samus tapped a button and a signal was patched in on the screen to her right.

"Captain, open the doors to the hangar, we're ready to deploy." She spoke.

"Stand by, general."

Within a moment the main hangar door slid open with a loud screech. Samus pushed a small leaver on the dash and the ship powered up. The engines could be heard humming idly and the general waited until one of the hangar mechanics gave her the signal move. Once okay-ed, Samus pushed another leaver up and the ship slowly drifted out of the hangar.

Once out in space, Samus' gunship reared around the Verdict and passed under the Aria's center and off towards Rhen Var's surface. Within a few minutes, the two were entering the atmosphere. Once Samus' ship neared the coordinates of her desired drop-off point, she looked to Leyula.

"Alright, see if you can spot a descent area for the Verdict to drop anchor." She said, looking out the view port as she kept a steady hand on the craft's controls. Leyula analyzed the terrain with calculative eyes, mathematically coordinating the size of the Verdict, possible landing zones and angles the large transport/assault ship should set down at. However the terrain was extremely uneven.

They flew for another hour, both keeping their minds clear and their sights sharp. They exchanged possible locations, some reasonable but too exposed to the elements and potential attackers.

"General, perhaps over that ridge?" Leyula suggested, pointing to a barely visible gap. Samus had her doubts on this one, it seemed way too narrow, even for her gunship. But anything was worth a shot after an hour of searching. The view that brought doubt to the general's mind was two cliffs only slightly adjacent to each other, just enough room for an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor to fly through. And if a pilot would fly through this ridge, he or she would have to go in sideways.

She pulled the gunship around and accelerated the engines. Keeping it at a steady speed, she pulled her ship over the ridge and brought it to a halt to analyze the scenery before them. Once they were over the ridge, they took note of a wide space, kept leveled by the lack of space for the blizzards to blow in. The surrounding mountains acted as a barrier from the snow-filled winds.

"That will do nicely, general. Verdict will have plenty of room to land and deploy the troops. If I may make a suggestion, the vessel should set down just next to that mountain with the starboard side facing it. She will have better cover that way." Leyula suggested. Samus was genuinely impressed by her skill.

"I have to say, the terrain looks naturally built to land a ship like the Verdict. Well done, if you are this good I don't see why the Empire didn't try to bribe you with wealth and power while you were still in their ranks!" She exclaimed. Leyula laughed at this.

"If I was a man, I might of received a promotion and my own fleet."

Samus nodded, the Imperial military was dominated by male humans. If one was not human and male, one did not get very far up the officer's ladder. It was why so many recruits were turned down, recruits that could have potentially shifted the Empire's notoriety among the galaxy. However, this flaw of military rule has been the Alliance's greatest advantage. The Rebellion may not match the Empire's fleet and army strength, but the wise leaders, determined soldiers and skilled fighters made up for that.

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><p>The bulky shape of the R-A-S Verdict hovered over head, slowly setting down as three bays revealed large, claw-like legs for the Assault Ship to stand on, lowered themselves and two doors from near the middle of the cruiser's hulk opened to make a walkway for which the cargo was to be deployed from. General Aran stood nearby her landed gunship, watching her most important piece of equipment set down. Next to her stood private Link, lieutenant Leyula, and the sergeant of Link's squad.<p>

Exactly an hour ago, general Samus had sent the order for the Verdict to deploy and landed her gunship to debrief her scouts. According to the reports, the only signs of the Empire's occupation of Rhen Var was the downed Walker nearby. The sergeant had took the liberty of sending a two-man excavation to dismantle the vehicle for parts and research. His goal was to find a more possible way to defeat the Walker when a speeder armed with a tow-cable gun was not available.

Within the circle in which Samus was advised to set her outpost on, the blizzard could not reach them. The surrounding mountains and slopes acted as a natural barrier from the elements, eliminating the purpose of an energy shield (of which Samus' forces were not equipped with), and thus saving some power for the Assault Ship.

As soon as the transport was settled, the crew began unloading crates and the engineers began constructing a command center. The rest of the ground forces on-board proceeded to march down the ramp of the Verdict's hull and a few pilots manned the vehicles the ship carried.

Samus sighed to herself, the vehicles under her command would not stand a chance against the Empire's current war machines. A squadron of lightly armored repulsor tanks with a turret armed with four barrels on each craft and a brigade of Pod Walker's left over from the Verdict's days in the Old Republic fleet. The only real combat vehicle that would bring her forces some advantage over the Imperials was the single All Terrain Tactical Enforcer that was currently making its way slowly down the ramp along side her troops.

She shook her head at the vehicle, the turret gun mounted on its back sparked a few times and an engineer climbed up with a few tools to fix the machinery. The Walker would be useful in her raids if her men could ever get it to work right and stop malfunctioning every ten minutes. Not that the older Walker would be able to go toe-to-toe with an AT-AT Walker. It had trouble taking down an AT-ST Walker; no chance will it be able to last long against the Empire's most widely used and widely feared unit.

'_Sometimes I wonder why the Alliance hasn't been defeated entirely yet._' She thought to herself.

Lost in thought, Samus did not see the young sailor approaching her from the Assault Ship's hull.

"General, we've received a strike order from High Command." He informed. Samus looked up, a frown on her face, and not because of the cold.

"What? They told me to deploy my soldiers here on this planet, not prepare for another raid!" She said, outraged and confused.

"This strike order is a response from a distress signal sent by commander Fox of Star Fox fleet." He added. Samus' frown deepened. At last she sighed, this sailor was young, he must have gotten confused by the transmission as it is obviously a rescue mission. She made a mental note to have Leyula retrain him on decoding incoming transmissions.

"Right. Link, let's go. Leyula, stay here and coordinate the supply transports to land on the opposite end of the landing zone." Samus instructed as she strode towards her ship with a silent Link in tow. Leyula nodded loyally as she made her way towards the Assault Ship as Samus' gunship began powering up.

* * *

><p>On-board the Aria, Samus and Link stood before the holographic projector, a small beeping noise marked the communicator's attempt in establishing a connection. Samus hummed to herself in thought after a moment. A different, lower pitched beep marked the connection had failed.<p>

"Not good. Either his transmissions are being jammed or he's nowhere near us." Samus concluded. "Captain, intensify power to the Com Tower."

"Yes general."

She tried again, reentering the commands through the keyboard and waiting for the projector to go from glowing red to glowing green. Link passed a glance to Samus, she returned it. There was no answer from the other side for awhile. They both felt a rise of anxiety within.

Just as the general was ready to order her flagship to light speed, the projector finally altered its color to green and the image of a fox-like pilot in green pants and a white jacket-like vest appeared with a thick, silver headset engulfing his head.

"There you are!" the creature cried, voice slightly deep. His stance was one of urgency, as if he was ready to jump to the side. Samus and Link could hear the sound of Imperial laser fire in the background and the imagery would shake violently every few seconds.

"What's going on?" Link asked. Commander Fox brought his hand up to cover his muzzle as an explosion rocked his ship before he replied.

"An Imperial cruiser ambushed my fleet while en route to Corellia! The Great Fox has taken heavy damage, and my Arwings are useless against the shields of that capital ship! I need immediate assistance!"

"Give me the coordinates and I'll see what I can do." Samus said.

"Transmitting..." One of Fox's sailors said from his side.

"Describe the ship." Samus requested, feeling suspicious about what she was about to deal with. The Great Fox was a large vessel, and the main gun on it would devastate any opposition. If he was forced to retreat, then it would only mean one thing.

"-Ugh! It's dagger shaped, roughly 1600 meters in length- oof! There's a command tower sitting on top of a super structure and armed with enough guns to- ack!" Fox attempted to describe as he was thrown from one side to the other as the image grew more unstable.

"Dammit, an Imperial Star Destroyer..." The general growled, "Fox, my frigate won't be much help to you against that kind of firepower, and my Acclamator can't contend so successfully either. I can only buy you a few minutes and you had better be in hyperspace!"

"That's...ll I-...ed!" And with that garbled reply, the transmission was ended abruptly. Captain Feta approached the two from the navigation console.

"We're ready, sir."

"Jump now."

* * *

><p>While in light speed, Link watched as Samus barked orders to her crew, arming the cannons and preparing her fighter pilots to attempt to distract the warship once they entered the system. Not long after the entire frigate was ready, the passing stars came to an immediate halt as the hyperdrive motivator was deactivated. The scene before the the Alliance vessel was a testament to the struggle of the Rebellion against the Empire.<p>

A few clicks away from where the Aria had entered the system at, was a massive, dagger shaped warship firing an endless stream of green energy bolts in immense numbers towards a much smaller, intricately shaped star cruiser returning fire, but obviously out gunned. Dozens of small explosions could be seen swarming the two battleships as the pilots from both sides exchanged fire amongst themselves. The smaller cruiser had smoke emitting from almost every corner of the hull as it continued to take damage from the Empire's Star Destroyer.

"Battle stations!" Samus shouted, an announcer relayed the command over the speaker system of the Aria to all crew members. Samus narrowed her eyes at the gray hull of the Star Destroyer. The station next to her that provided an analysis of the target confirmed Samus' thoughts before hand.

'_It's the Absalom._' She darkly noted mentally. That ship had been an obstacle of her objectives on more than several occasions. How she keeps running into it, she does not know, but is determined to find out.

"Fox, we'll draw the Absalom's fire away from the Great Fox for as long as we can. Enter hyperspace as soon as possible." Samus instructed, having a much easier time establishing a connection to the damaged flagship. '_I have a score to settle with the good captain of the Absalom._' She thought grimly, attempting to form a plan of action to cripple the stalking warship.

"We can't, the engines are damaged-ugh! I need time for the crew to get it stable enough for the motivator to initiate!" Fox returned, distressed as another blast rocked his command tower. Samus resisted the urge to punch her projector. Once again, the Absalom wrecks havoc on the general. Her anger flares, the destroyer had nearly destroyed her flagship last time over Shola. The damage the Absalom caused the Aria had killed half her crew. She had desired nothing more than personally turning the ship into a floating piece of mangled junk.

"Fine. Just make it quick, or I'm leaving without you." She warned, "all cannons target the Absalom! Launch all fighters!"

Immediately, the Aria began firing the quad guns hidden behind the armor plating throughout the hull, all bolts quickly closing the distance between the frigate and the destroyer. The hangar shields lowered and a flight of Incom T-65 X-wing fighters flew out, heading to engage an incoming wave of TIE/ln fighter squadrons.

The Star Destroyer halted its assault on the Great Fox, turning its numerous cannons on the green armored Escort Frigate. Within moments, Samus and Link found themselves holding onto each other as both lost balance when the bolts began connecting with the Aria's hull, causing several shock waves to rock the ship's interior.

Despite being out gunned by a much larger class, the Aria's shields held tighter than Samus had expected, but she knew it wouldn't be long before the barrage would take its toll. She ordered her fighter squadrons to attack the Imperial warship head on, hoping to draw some of the turbo laser fire away from her frigate and Fox's command ship.

It seemed to be working, the torpedoes from the harassing X-wings were beginning to cause enough damage to the Star Destroyer to draw its fire. However, the smaller craft evaded the bolts with ease. The Imperial TIE fighters moved to bat the rebel squadrons away from the destroyer, but the armor of the well-balanced star fighters and their considerable maneuverability proved hitting difficult for the lightly armed TIEs.

A female, red wolf bridge operator on board the Great Fox grew alarmed when her console began flashing a red color, the shape of a fighter with two cockpits surrounded by long and curved wings was seen on her screen.

"Commander, TIE bombers approaching!" She yelled over the Great Fox's alarms, her voice accented similarly to Krystal.

Fox paled, the payload of those bombers would rip his ship to pieces before the engines were restored.

"Falco, Krystal, Slippy; intercept the TIE bombers before they can get into range!" Fox commanded into his projector as he waited for the repair crew to stabilize the Great Fox's engines.

"I copy. Do you see them, Falco?" Krystal's voice called.

"Aah, no, I'm having trouble shaking this scum! I wont be able to give you a hand 'till I'm clear!" Falco's voice replied.

"We don't have much time! Samus' frigate wont be able to hold the Absalom's attention much longer before they remember we're here! Do whatever you can fast, maintenance is almost finished stabilizing the engines!" Fox hastily informed.

"We're on it, Fox. Slippy, provide me some cover fire. Falco, hang tight for a second, we'll be back to give you a hand." Krystal promised, accelerating her crafts speed.

"Roger...Ugh. Hurry it up, will ya? I'm not sure how much longer I can hold off bubble head here..." Falco replied, doing a barrel roll to avoid his pursuer's laser fire.

Fox continued to watch the battle from the bridge, all the Arwings had been launched when the Absalom revealed itself while they were passing a group of asteroids. He checked Star Wolf squadron to see if they were available, but some of the chatter coming from Wolf's team suggested they were quite busy.

"Panther, I don't want my precious Wolven damaged any further than she already is! Get over here and blow this fighter off my 6!" Wolf's voice commanded as he swayed from the left to the right evasively.

"I'm tied here with my own problems, sir. Leon, can you help him?"

"Die, die, die!" Leon's mad-like voice cackled as he shot down a TIE fighter. Panther shook his head at this.

"I suppose not. Star Fox command; Wolf needs assistance, can you provide?" Panther requested, sounding calm and collected in such a situation.

"I'm on it, power the main cannon." Fox ordered to the red wolf sitting next to Peppy. She nodded, inputting a command into her console. The loud alarms of the Great Fox continued to blare, but a hum soon overshadowed it as an orange light gathered at the two large guns near the center of the Carrier. Once on target, the operator pressed another command and the main cannon released a massive energy bolt that headed right for Wolf's craft. He evaded the shot at the last second purposely, allowing it to engulf the TIEs behind him.

Samus groaned agitatedly. "Sailor, report!" She called.

"Shields at 35% general! And dropping!" one of the operators called back.

"Focus fire on their bridge!" the general ordered.

"Sir, we can't penetrate their shields without some assistance!" The operator informed.

"Fox, I need some support here, use that cannon of yours and break the Absalom's shields!" Samus called to Fox's image.

"Pulling around..." Fox acknowledged.

The Great Fox veered about, the guns already charging as it moved.

Krystal dodged another volley from a passing TIE interceptor and fired her cannons at the slow moving bombers ahead of her. She adjusted her craft's direction slightly as her targeting computer suggested and downed her second bomber. Only one left.

"Slippy, take him out, I'm going to help Falco!" She commanded. The toad acknowledged with a shrill grunt as he pressed the fire buttons on his control sticks. After several shots, the last TIE bomber took a shot to the right wing, sending it madly into space to collide with a TIE fighter, causing a large, green-ish blue explosion.

"Fire!" Fox shouted and the laser cannon of the Great Fox shot two, powerful beams that collided with the Absalom's mid hull.

"Their shields are down!" The statistics officer reported after the shots connected.

"All cannons, fire on the bridge! Fox, how's the repairs coming?"

"Almost done, they're hooking the motivators back into the bridge controls." Fox replied as he let another blast from his main guns rip into the Absalom's hull. Aria's cannons rained down on the bridge of the Absalom, but the heavy armor of the destroyer proved difficult to penetrate to deliver a fatal blow. Neither could the Great Fox's cannons puncture it.

Falco zoomed right and narrowly avoided death as his enemy continued to unleash laser bolt after laser bolt, creating a shower of green energy beams that Falco skillfully evaded. Sweat began trickling down his beak as his concentration wavered slightly, seeing Krystal's Arwing approaching. She locked on to the interceptor that had haunted Falco's trail for the majority of the fight and began pursuing it, firing her cannons with precise shots. In moments, her craft zoomed through the exploding remains of the Imperial star fighter.

"Our shields are down, general!" the statistics officer warned with alarm. The Aria's emergency alarms began blaring louder as the Absalom's fire penetrated her hull and began damaging her guns. Samus swore loudly at this, she passed a glance through the view port in the direction of Fox's ship and noted that the fighters had cleared him of enemy units.

"Fox, we're out of time." Samus called.

"We're ready, Samus. My pilots are on-board and my coordinates are locked. I'll see you at Corellia." Fox informed, he gave the command to retreat and the Great Fox, with her hull aflame, jumped to light speed. Their destination was Corellia. Samus sighed with relief, she looked around her bridge, but did not see Link.

"Where's private Link?" She asked of anyone as the navigation officer set the coordinates for Corellia. No one knew.

In the hangar, Link stood next to the deflector shield, a large rocket launcher on his shoulder and the sights locked on an approaching TIE bomber. He pulled the trigger back, as he was instructed to during training, and the rocket was released, sending him to the floor from the kick. He was not prepared for it.

The pilot of the TIE bomber pulled up and managed to avoid being hit. Link had yet to reload his launcher as the TIE bomber flew by, nor did he even have the chance to stand. Letting a dark smile curl his lips underneath his helmet, the TIE pilot fired a single torpedo that was heading right for the Aria's hangar. Link's eyes widened in shock as he futility bolted for the hangar entrance door.

_End Chapter._


End file.
